L.A. Requiem - Softcover

Robert Crais (auhtor of Monkey's Raincoat) returns with his eighth Elvis Cole mystery, LA Requiem, a breakneck caper that leaves the wise-cracking detective second-guessing himself. Cole's partner, the tight-lipped, charm-free Joe Pike gets a call from his friend Frank "Tortilla" Garcia. Not only is Garcia a wealthy businessman, he's a political heavyweight and father of Karen, Joe's ex. Frank sends the gumshoe duo out to find his girl but the boys are beaten to the punch by the men in blue: Karen is found in a park with a bullet in the brain. The two stay on the case but when another murder points to Pike as a suspect, things take a turn for the worst. The boys on the force are all too willing to put Pike away--he has a chequered past. When Cole attempts to save him, he finds a lot more than he bargained for and some life-altering, soul-searching to boot. Crais' knack for snappy dialogue and clean-cut scenes bespeak his former days as a writer for the award-winning television series, Hill Street Blues and LA Law: "Krantz's mouth split into a reptilian smile and I wondered what was playing out here. He said, 'I want this man questioned, Lieutenant. If Pike here knows the vic, maybe he knows how she got like this.' Pike said, 'It won't happen pants.' Krantz's face went deep read, and an ugly web of veins pulsed in his forehead. I moved close to Pike. 'Is there something happening here that I should know about?'" --Rebekah Warren

"One of the best crime novels I've ever read. Absolutely terrific!"--David Baldacci

"Terrific entertainment . . . A powerful portrait of Los Angeles in our time: swift, colorful, gripping, a real knockout."--Dean Koontz

"Darker, denser, deeper, and more satisfying than anything he's written before."--The Denver Post

"[A] whodunit with salsa and soul . . . [Crais] keeps his plot pounding along."--People